Dealing With Furnace Problems

Troubleshooting 3 Common Furnace Smells

7 April 2021 by Eliza Chapman

If your central forced-air heating system is generating an unpleasant smell, it can quickly spread throughout your entire home and can be extremely hard to miss. While inconvenient, these various smells are actually a good indicator of specific issues with your furnace and can help identify and fix issues before they have the chance to grow serious.

Rotten Eggs

If you notice the smell of rotten eggs coming out of your heating vents at any time, you should immediately shut off your unit, get in touch with a contractor and emergency services, and exit your home. The smell of rotten eggs will only occur if you have a gas furnace, as the smell is added into your furnace's gas supply to alert you to a leak. This is the most serious issue that can face your furnace, but also thankfully one of the rarest to actually occur.

Burning

The smell of burning coming from your furnace can indicate one of two things. Most furnaces will emit a burning smell the first time that they are turned on for the season, as there is a layer of dust that has built up on the heating element over the summer. This type of burning smell is not a concern and should disappear within a few minutes. However, if you smell burning at any other time, and it is persistent, your furnace may be suffering from a mechanical problem that is causing sparking or overheating. This is a serious safety risk, as an overheating furnace carries the risk of causing a fire, so you should turn the unit off and get a contractor to inspect your furnace straight away.

Wet Soil

The musty, earthy smell of dirt can point to mold and mildew growth in your ductwork or furnace. This can happen fairly commonly if you live in an area that has a relatively high humidity level at any point in the year, as condensation can collect in the ducts. Alternatively, mold growth can occur in your ducts if your home has suffered from water damage at any point, as plumbing leaks or flooding can allow water to seep into the ductwork in large quantities as well. In any case, mold growth can be a serious health concern that is bad for your respiratory health. Having a professional duct cleaning company flush your ducts out can remove the mold and the smell. 

If you need help addressing these smells, contact local furnace repair companies. 

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